A Kita portfolio is a personal collection from your child’s everyday daycare life, containing photographs, their work and words, and short “learning stories” written by educators. Kita is the word for daycare in German-speaking countries.
A new Kita year has just started. Your part in the folder can be small: look through it with your child and ask the educators about contributions. You can add a family memory if you wish. When the portfolio comes home at the end of Kita, keep the folder and consider photographing pages showing your child’s own drawings and words.
Practices differ between Kitas, so simply ask the educators how your child’s folder works. You can begin with what you want to know: when you can look inside and whether there is anything they would like you to contribute.
What goes into a Kita portfolio?
The pages give you something concrete to look at with your child. A drawing might sit alongside the child’s explanation, while a short learning story records something the child did. A Kita in Bern writes learning stories and files them in the child’s portfolio.
Typical contents include:
- A self-portrait or a “that’s me” page.
- Artwork with the child’s explanation.
- Photos of activities or projects the child chose.
- The child’s words or questions.
- Short learning stories written by educators.
- Memories of celebrations and outings.
- Contributions from the family, if the child and the Kita want them.
This list gives you an idea of what you might find. When you open the folder together, begin with whichever page interests your child. Give them time to explain it in their own way. They might want to talk, or simply point to a detail in a picture.
For example, a page with a drawing and your child’s explanation keeps their meaning alongside the marks on the paper. You can read those words together and leave space for anything they want to add. It is also fine to spend your time on a single page.
Whose folder is it, and may you look inside?
The portfolio is made for and with the child. Children should be involved in choosing its contents and discussing them in ways suited to their age and abilities.
Some portfolio guidance describes the folder as the child’s property, with the child deciding what goes in and who may look. One suggested format is a ring binder with clear sheet protectors, whose sleeves can also hold small craft pieces.
If you are asked to check with your child before opening the folder, invite them to show it to you. Let them choose where to begin and follow their interest. You do not need to discuss every page or ask a question about each picture.
Parents can see their own child’s portfolio, with access taking other children’s privacy into account. The folders should be stored so other children and unauthorised people cannot simply browse through them.
Before taking photographs of pages at daycare, check with the educators. If you are unsure about access, ask how you can arrange to look through the folder with your child.
What should parents add?
Parents can contribute memories or family photographs, and can add their own perspective. The daycare portfolio can also serve as a concrete basis for development conversations with educators. For an optional contribution, start with something your child wants to include.
If you receive a request for a family page, ask what is wanted before preparing it. A photograph with a short caption may be enough. Find out whether there is a particular prompt, then keep your contribution focused on that request.
For example, you could write down your child’s explanation of a drawing made at home. Ask whether they would like those words included with the picture. You could read the words back to them and give them a chance to add something. Their explanation can stay brief.
When the portfolio comes home
When a child leaves Kita, they usually receive their portfolio as a keepsake.
Keep the folder itself. Give it a place at home and let your child return to it when they want. You can leave the pages in place while you decide whether you would like to make copies of anything.
When you feel ready, look through it together and choose a few pages showing your child’s own drawings and words to photograph. That way, those pieces are also kept outside the binder. Include the child’s explanation in the photograph, or copy it alongside the image so the words stay connected to the drawing.
For help making clear pictures, see how to photograph kids’ art. Check each page before photographing it, and do not share pages that show other children.
Keeping the original folder and a few photographs may be enough for you. If you would like a separate book of your child’s drawings, this guide to turning Kita years of drawings into a book offers a starting point. Choose the pieces with your child while keeping the original portfolio intact.
Scribbly is a free app for photographing and keeping children’s artwork. It automatically removes the background from the photo and files each drawing under the child who made it. You can add a short story, such as what your child said about the drawing. When you want, you can order a printed photo book of the drawings. Printed books are paid.
